Trump's Jerusalem decision violates international law: Pakistan

2 months ago

07-12-2017

IANS

Islamabad, Dec 7 : Pakistan on Thursday joined the international community in expressing its strong opposition and condemnation over US President Donald Trump's move to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital and the plan to relocate the American embassy from Tel Aviv to the ancient city.

"This decision represents a serious violation of international law and applicable UN Security Council resolutions... It is a serious setback to the rule of law and international norms. It signals a severe blow to the Middle East peace process as well," Pakistan's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

President Mamnoon Hussain said the move was "unacceptable to the Muslim world". Islamabad urged Washington to revisit its decision in order to avoid the potentially grave repercussions in the region and beyond.

Reversing decades of US policy, Trump made the declaration on Wednesday triggering widespread international opposition.

Pakistan called upon the UN Security Council "to take cognizance of this situation and take steps in accordance with the UN Charter". It further welcomed an announcement by Turkey to convene an "extraordinary" meeting of the Organization of the Islamic Conference on December 13 to discuss the situation.